The Miracle Worker and "House" star Jennifer Morrison will join the cast of the CBS sitcom "How I Met Your Mother" in a major new role, according to ew.com.

Jennifer Morrison
Photo by Joseph Marzullo/WENN

Morrison (who has also appeared in the films "Star Trek" and "Flourish") will play Zooey, the new love interest of Ted (Josh Radnor). Morrison's character is an activist who's determined to save an old hotel that is being torn down to make way for a bank tower that Ted is designing. The show's executive producer, Craig Thomas, told ew.com that Zooey is "the biggest female character we've maybe ever added to the show in Ted's life."

Several familiar stage and screen stars will appear on the sixth season of the sitcom. As previously reported, "Whose Line Is It Anyway?" and Chicago star Wayne Brady will return as James Stinson, the gay, African-American brother of Barney (Neil Patrick Harris). Tony Award winner Ben Vereen (Pippin, Fosse, Wicked) will play James' father.

Tony Award nominee Laura Bell Bundy (Legally Blonde, Hairspray) will also have a recurring role during the season as a co-host of Robin's (Cobie Smolders) show "Metro News One."